Brody hen laying with chick???

Pekin747

Songster
Feb 20, 2019
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Ireland
So in all my year of having turkeys guineas ducks and chickens I've never had a hen lay while she is has chicks they r 15 and 17 day old and she layed here second egg today I like to leave the hen with the chicks til there about 3 and a half 4 weeks but does this mean the hen thinks the chicks r old Enough to be on there own or should I separate them I do have a heat lamp that I can give them during the night if I need to but I'm just wondering what doe this mean or is it something some hens do
 
So in all my year of having turkeys guineas ducks and chickens I've never had a hen lay while she is has chicks they r 15 and 17 day old and she layed here second egg today I like to leave the hen with the chicks til there about 3 and a half 4 weeks but does this mean the hen thinks the chicks r old Enough to be on there own or should I separate them I do have a heat lamp that I can give them during the night if I need to but I'm just wondering what doe this mean or is it something some hens do
Some hens egg laying cycle switches on earlier than others. Sometimes it can mean the mother will no longer care for the chicks but this isn't always the case. I've had mothers laying eggs while the chicks stood around getting bored because mum wasn't giving them her full attention. Let mum decide when she's finished caring for the chicks.
 
I don't think she's considered broody any more. A broody hen is one who sits on the nest, cares for the eggs, and defends the nest, not one who has chicks.
 
I don't think she's considered broody any more. A broody hen is one who sits on the nest, cares for the eggs, and defends the nest, not one who has chicks.
Hmmmm...could just be semantics. I call them 'broody mama' until they wean the chicks and stop that broody clucking.
 
I have one right now that has a 4 week old chick and she has been laying eggs for about a week and a half. I have had others that have also started to lay eggs with around 3week old chicks, they have all been black copper Marian’s. Al the other broodys of other kinds of chickens didn’t start laying till way later like a couple of months.
 
Thanx everyone for ur advise I'm just going to keep an eye on here and if she just stops looking after them I'll put her back with the Male and hand raise the chicks from there but hopefully shell care for them for another few weeks
I don't think she's considered broody any more. A broody hen is one who sits on the nest, cares for the eggs, and defends the nest, not one who has chicks.
Then what is she consider as when she has the chicks
 
I categorize a hen as broody when she is incubating through end of clucking when chicks / juveniles are weaned. About time clucking ceases, egg production can resume. When my hens are about to engage in a successive broody cycle, she will reject previous brood. Sometimes that does not occur until a day or two before incubation begins.

Hens can associate with weaned offspring, doing so when rearing a second brood can be bad for second brood.
 

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